Funds are requested for partial support of the 2007 and 2009 Gordon Research Conferences on Developmental Biology. This five-day conference has been recognized for over thirty years as the major and most prestigious mid-size meeting in Developmental Biology, bringing together approximately 150 outstanding senior and junior scientists for discussions of the recent advances in the field. [unreadable] [unreadable] The conference has several features that make it unique. 1) It intentionally spans a wide variety of experimental systems and focuses on areas of exceptional activity or promise. This leads to fruitful comparative analyses and raises new questions about underlying mechanisms. 2) The 46 invited speakers for the 2007 conference are at diverse stages of their careers and include more than 40% women. They represent not only some of the most productive and creative members in the field, but also individuals with the capacity to generate useful discussions. 3) The conference will take place at the Proctor Academy in New Hampshire, a geographically isolated site that keeps participants in close proximity for five days of in-depth discussion, without the distractions of nearby ski-slopes, beaches, or cities. [unreadable] [unreadable] The conference format will consist in the mornings and evenings of more than 50 short talks followed by discussion, and in the afternoon of informal interactions and presentation of approximately 80 posters. The nine sessions cover classic topics and emerging areas: asymmetry, stem cells and regeneration, axis formation, growth and patterning, evolution, morphogenesis, signaling, organogenesis, and regulatory networks. Some of the session time has been kept uncommitted to choose speakers from attendants. By maximizing both formal discussion and informal interactions the Gordon Conference on Developmental Biology will help to define both the present state and future of the field. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]